Have Faith (ON HIATUS)
by thedogzoo
Summary: Everything was quiet and peaceful until a certain fear-craving spirit shows up again, but this time, with help. When Man in the Moon picks an unlikely Guardian of Childhood, the Guardians are exposed to a whole new world of monsters and things that go bump in the night. This new Guardian? Well, lets just say that this 'make believe world' is her reality. *WARNING:Language,violence*
1. Chapter 1

"Frost!" Bunnymund shouted, running down the hallway the best he could with iced over feet. Err, paws. God, that little _brat_ decided it would be funny if he froze the rabbit's feet to the ground. Bunnymund had managed to twist and crack the ice, the ice's squeaking against the delicate and smooth hard-wood floors as he lifted up his feet.

In front of the giant pissed off rabbit was a lanky, lean figure that was laughing with mirth. "What, your feet a little cold, Peter Cottontail?" the teenage boy teased. A frosted over shepherd's staff in his hand and his footsteps soon becoming lighter until he flew, Jack Frost was the one Bunnymund was chasing. Being the spirit of winter had its advantages, especially when the spirit of winter was a little trickster himself.

Bunnymund grit his teeth together, dodging some run-away elves and working yetis that littered North's workshop. "I've had it with your god-damned pranks!" he yelled, anger blaring in his words like a siren through his thick Australian accent. He had a passionate disliking for Jack Frost and everyone knew it, seeing their bickering and fighting. All Jack did was mess with his holiday and freeze water pipes. Why Tsar Lunar (Man in the Moon) picked this pixie in the first place to be a Guardian, the Pooka didn't have any clue.

"Ooh, the Easter Bunny's got a mouth on him!" Jack gasped, frost spreading across the walls he flew past. He turned around a corner, flying into a work room where the yetis made the toys. "Does North need to wash his mouth out with soap?"

Bunnymund, hot on Jack's trail, was stopped when Phil the Yeti was spun around so the winter spirit could hide behind him, using the Bigfoot looking creature as a shield. He couldn't help but smirk faintly and ignored Jack's teasing comment. "Too afraid of facing me, Frostbite?" The rabbit's ears perked up in interest as he leaned around Phil to see the snow-white haired boy maneuvering to the yeti's side. "All by yourself? Do you need someone to protect you?"

"Ha! Protector?" Jack scoffed. "In your carrot dreams, Kangaroo." Seeing Bunnymund's alarmed look at the nickname which he despised, he took his fleeting chance and started running again. He heard Bunnymund's footsteps behind him the minute he took off.

The winter spirit flew down some hallways with swift speed, quickly taking a peek behind him to see where Bunnymund was. Suddenly, there was a huge thump and Jack Frost went crashing down onto the ground. He could've sworn he heard something in his face crack, as well as in his back. At least his staff was okay, though. He stared up dizzily up at the ceiling, seeing two of everything for a few moments before his vision cleared up again. Jack quickly came scrambling up to his feet just when a large, furry paw grabbed him by the hood and lifted him up. "Oh, uh.. Bunny!" His voice had slight nervousness in it.

Bunnymund scowled harshly at the young boy, his green eyes darker than usual. "I told you specifically to _stop it_! But no, you just have to be too arrogant and make your point. I swear to MiM I'll-"

"Bunny," a Russian accent broke the tension. "Put Jack down and act your age!" The Russian accent belonged to a very tall and large man. He had bright blue eyes where wonder was evident, but at the moment, was filled with scolding disappointment. His black bushy eyebrows were furrowed into a frown. Tattoos lined up his arms, which were now crossed over his chest expectantly. He had white hair and a white beard and mustache, an brown boots and a red suit. A golden ring on this thumb on his right hand.

Bunnymund's eyes flickered from North to Jack, his 'oh crap, I've been caught' look hardening up into a look of hatred once his eyes landed on the pale skinned kid. His lips curled into a snarl. " _Fine_ ," he spat harshly, dropping Jack Frost onto the floor. He landed with a thump, yelping and jabbing Bunnymund's foot with the butt of his staff, which caused it to freeze over again.

Scrambling up to his feet, Jack looked at North with a gracious expression, which faded once the man started talking. "Bunny, Jack, you two are needed for the Guardian meeting."

"Guardian meeting?" Frost's voice was filled with curiosity. "Is this a monthly thing or what? We just had one in November." His hands brushed the dirt and dust off of his blue frosted hoodie and his brown, tattered pants. Frost tendrils spread out in all directions from where his feet were, crackling lightly as it formed.

The Guardian meeting had taken place a week before Thanksgiving Day arrived. North, the 'leader' of the Guardians (probably because he had the giant globe, and whoever gets the gigantic toys is always the leader), claimed it was to check up on things to make sure that there was no sign of Pitch Black, the Boogeyman, around. (That year's Easter was ruined by him and smashing Bunnymund's hard-work. The eggs. So, they were all a little bit cautious the rest of the year.) But Jack secretly thought that it was to get everyone together to play a four-hour-long 20 questions game. They were all oddly interested in him for some reason.

Jack was never around that much. He was always somewhere in the world where he belonged. Whether he give out frost in the springtime in some areas, or extreme blizzards in the wintertime areas, or sometimes just hanging out in Antarctica where he knew it'd never ever heat up, he was somewhere down below the North Pole.

Besides, everyone was really busy. Jack had his winter to spread, Sandy had his dreams to give out every night (which was almost constantly, night falling at different times in parts of the world), Toothiana and her little fairies had teeth to collect (which was time sucking as well, for the same exact reason for Sandy's constant absence), North was building and making millions of toys, and Bunnymund was painting millions upon millions of eggs. Thank the heavens the holiday spirits had helpers, or they wouldn't ever attend a single meeting ever in their whole entire lives.

There was a low chuckle from Santa Clause, the look of disappointment disappearing into faint amusement. "No, no, last month vas just check-up." He waved his large hand dismissively, his expression now turning grim. "This is real Guardian meeting. Serious business."

There was silence between all three Guardians, making a chill run up their spine. Not of the temperature drop, though. They've gotten used to Jack's low temperature area by now. Finally, the silence was invaded by a soft sigh escaping Bunnymund's furry lips.

"What is it this time, North?"

********

Within the first few minutes of the Aurora Borealis, commonly known as the Northern Lights to people around the world, was sent out, all five of the Guardians were standing in the Globe Room. The Northern Lights was established quite a few centuries (give or take, however) before the current time as the Guardians' call. That's the reason why they were mostly so rare.

In the middle of the floor, there was a giant circle that had a diamond inside it. Inside the diamond was a fancy, curvy looking capital 'G'. Off in front of the 'G' was a control panel and a massive globe slowly spinning, millions of tiny little lights covering it. Some flickered on and some flickered off. Each little light stood for a child who believed. Belief kept them all up and on their feet - kept them from not fading away into oblivion.

The oldest of the Guardians was standing in his usual place, off towards the side. He was quite small, way shorter than all the rest. He was a little chubby as well with honey-golden eyes and golden hair, as well as his robe. Sandman, known and called as Sandy to everyone else, was the bringer of good dreams. He controlled golden dreamsand which aided him in doing so. He had a bright, childish smile and a lot to say, despite him being mute. The only way for him to communicate with others was using his dreamsand to conjure up images above his head, much like charades. He is often accidentally ignored, which irritates him so, but soon gets a say in everything.

Then there was Toothiana, known and called as Tooth (or Toothy, in North's case), the Tooth Fairy. The most obvious characteristic of hers was that she was part hummingbird, part human. Green, yellow, and blue feathers covered her whole body but her face and hands. Some feathers draped down behind her legs in a wedding dress type of style, a few feathers stretching over her head like a queen. Queen of the Tooth Fairies. She had bright violet eyes with, how you would say, extraordinary eyelashes. She had purple-ish wings on her back that seemed to change color as they buzzed in different angles of lighting. To accompany her as she worked, and for help with it as well, she had little tooth fairies that she gave orders to.

Jack Frost was crouching down on the crook of his shepherd's staff with no effort at all. The Guardians didn't know if he was able to do that because of his good balancing or because he was as light as a feather. Some even made a bet on it.

Bunnymund was crouched by the fire in the fireplace, trying to warm up as he rubbed his paws together. He had a brown sash that started from his right shoulder and went down to his waist on the left side of his body, dark blue tribal markings standing out against his grey, and undoubtedly fluffy, rabbit fur. "Seriously, North, where in this workshop is it colder?" He shivered, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

North only crossed his arms over his wide chest and pressed his lips into a thin line as he waited for everyone to settle down. They were all here and now, were waiting for him to speak. "There is threat to the children and to us," he announced.

"We kind of figured that, North.." Jack sighed softly and jumped off of his staff, letting his feet touch the ground with a soft padding noise. " _Who_ is the threat, is our question." He leaned against his frosted over staff, one hand on it and the other stuffed into his hoodie's one pocket.

North gave them a sheepish smile. "I do not know who one of the threats are," he admitted. "But-"

"Wait, wait," Bunnymund interrupted him. "There's more than one threat!?" He stood up straight and stiffly, his ears perked up in alarm and alertness. The Guardians almost went down in flames - err, sand? - when it was only Pitch trying to over throw them. How, in any shape or form, were they supposed to take down two threats all at once?

"Yes, Bunny," North said, giving Bunnymund a quick glance. "The threat ve do know of is Pitch." There were collective groans, one being a silent sigh.

Sandy conjured up some of his golden dreamsand and made a figure of Pitch a little higher up than normal, then half a circle with an arrow at the end, which pointed to another figure of Pitch. 'It's a repetitive cycle,' he meant to say.

"How are we going to defeat him this time?" Toothiana squeaked, the humming and buzzing of her wings growing a little bit louder in volume out of her nervousness. Suddenly, a bright beam grabbed their attention.

A moon beam from Man in the Moon made its way to the 'G' in the middle of the room, which caused a crystal to rise out of the floor. It was a bright blue one, earning gasps.

"He's chosen a new Guardian," North said in awe. "Who is it, Man in Moon?" Everyone watched in interest, waiting in anticipation for the image to come up.

The image was of a girl, looked to be in her early twenties. Her hair was wavy and it came down to her mid back, a hard and intimidating expression on her face. Her eyes were fixed in a glare and her lips were pressed into a thin, firm line. What caught all of their attention was the fighting stance she was in: her feet were apart and she gripped something in her right hand tightly.

A knife.


	2. Chapter 2

"You hit like a girl," he sneered. "A very bratty one at that." He held a knife in his right hand, long, silver, and sharp. She knew exactly what it was, and that it was made to kill her. He knew that she had the same knife, making him laugh in disbelief. Doesn't someone like her know a mere blade cannot kill a vampire?

"Well, because I am a girl," she responded, sass seeping into her snappy tone of voice. The pair stared at each other warily, each ready to attack again as they walked around in a circle opposite of each other. She gripped her own long and silver knife in her hand, the darkness of the night covering up the blood that dripped from it. Shadows flickered across the brick walls of the wide alley they were in, dancing in harmony with the two's movements.

"Ha!" he scoffed. "You're far from that, sugar. You're a murderer. You _betrayed_ your own _family_!" His voice had risen up in a screeching shout that sent chills of fear run down your spine. But not with her. "You're a _rebel_! You ran away from your home, and all for what? Humanity? Or was it because you ruined he-"

" _ENOUGH_!" she shrieked, lunging at the sharp tooth fiend. She made a move of trying to stab him with the knife she held in her right hand, but was fooled. He moved out of the way at inhuman speed, throwing her into the brick wall with a big thump. She gasped, spinning around to attack once more, but was slammed into the wall again, pinned with no where to go and nowhere to escape.

He smirked, his lips soon curling into a grin. "Can't go anywhere now, can you?" he breathed, his grin widening as many more rows of sharp and serrated teeth slipped down from his gums and into view. She thrashed to escape with all her might, throwing her arms about and swiveling her torso to slip out of his grip. He only gripped her hips harsher and kept her against the wall. "It would be a shame if such a powerful creature like you would be taken down by such a poor, second-class creature like me, wouldn't it?"

"You wouldn't do that," she spat, her breathing coming out as pants as she fingered the knife behind her back. Her mind was racing with attack plans and hopes, the odds and suddenly, just plain out rage.

"Oh, believe me darling, I would," he cooed, leaning into the girl's neck. He bared his fangs, opening and closing his jaw like he was about to bite, hearing the adrenaline rushing in her veins. "Perhaps dinner's early tonight-" His voice cut off uncomfortably as he felt a sharp point in the middle of his stomach.

"Not on my watch you don't," she forced through gritted teeth, plunging the knife into his stomach. He looked down at the knife jutting out from above his navel calmly, backing up.

"You _really_ think this would work?" he asked, amusement of disbelief obvious in his voice. "You're pathetic! I swear once I'm done with you-" He froze, now looking sickly as he paled. He collapsed and fell to his knees, now unable to hold himself up. "Dead Man's Blood.." He had only enough strength to whisper now.

She ripped the knife out of his body, grinning like a mad man. "Bingo," she cooed. She twirled the knife in between her thumb and pointer finger, slowly leaning down. "And it's more like.." Her lips rested near his ear, her voice soft. "I slay like a woman." She immediately withdrew, swinging her knife and..

A literal sense is given to, 'Off with his head!'

********

"The groundhog's fine!" Bunnymund squeaked, holding his paws up in a surrender type motion.

Jack laughed at Bunnymund's visible fright, walking closer to the crystal. "Kangaroo doesn't even know who she is, and he's already scared. Remind me again why he's a Guardian?" he taunted, looking at the others who gave him a warning glare.

North looked up at the crystal reflecting the silhouette, inspecting the girl's image carefully. His eyebrows furrowed together, a hand resting on his chin as he looked in deep thought. His lips pursed before stretching into a sudden grin, his bright blue eyes widening slightly, signaling he had an idea. His hand dropped down so he could cross his arms across his chest. "This is Gracie Jiminez, is it not?"

Toothiana gasped, flying in closer to the rock. "Oh my MiM! It _is_ her!" she squealed. "I can't believe how grown up she's gotten! It seems like only yesterday she was six and asking for a unicorn plushy for Christmas."

Sandy's facial expression lit up like a Christmas tree. An exclamation point formed above his head, expressing his excitement the best he could. Gracie was always such a dreamer. She'd always have the most cutest and adorable, yet refreshing dreams he's ever seen. When she got a little bit older and into pre-teen phase and early teenage years, her dreams were of pursuing what she wanted to do the most. It was amazing to see her work for it.

Bunnymund, on the other hand, sensed something way different about Gracie. It was quite simple: _this wasn't her_. This wasn't the Gracie Jiminez that he knew - no, this was a whole completely different person. Gracie was a lover, not a fighter, and most definitely wouldn't get into physical violence. She had barely any fighting experience, if any at all. The girl shown in the image right now.. She knew her stance. She had a plan, she had experience. She was a natural born fighter, and it was obvious in her appearance somehow.

And Jack.. Well.. He had no idea who she was.

North looked joyful. "Ve must bring her here at once," he announced. "Who votes to be catcher?" He looked around, seeing the nervous look on Bunnymund's face. His smile faded pretty quickly and he frowned. "Vhat is vrong, Bunny?"

"I.." Bunnymund trailed off for a moment. "I don't know about this, North. I don't like it - it gives me weird feeling." He fumbled around with a boomerang nervously between his two paws, his gaze flickering between North and his weapon.

"C'mon, Kangaroo, open your heart a little," Jack said, mocking. "Let people into that cold, stone heart of yours."

"Can it, Frostbite!" Bunnymund hissed. He turned his attention back to North. "North, this isn't Gracie."

"Do not be silly, Bunny, this is Gracie," North chuckled, gesturing to some of his yetis and get ready to leave. They nodded and stalked off to get a snow globe and a bag to put Gracie in.

"Yeah, but-" Bunnymund was cut off, much to his displeasure.

"Are you sure you remember her correctly?" Toothiana asked. She gave her friend a concerned look, as if he was sick. "This _is_ Gracie. Yeah, she's grown up a lot, but-"

"You guys aren't listening!" Bunnymund exclaimed, shoving his boomerang back in his sash and flinging his arms around in the air. "This.. This _girl_ isn't Gracie Jiminez! It is her but it isn't!" He then face palmed lightly as his choice of words, softly sighing and looking back up at everyone. "Something's different about her.. And I don't like it. I don't trust this girl."

Sandy frowned, taking his worried words into consideration, where North was still quick to respond. "If Man in Moon trusts her.. Then ve must." He sighed softly.

"Even I know that, and I've only been here for around a half a year," Jack gloated, getting closer to the giant rabbit and gave him a teasing look. "Compared to your thousands of years in this little group, I'm not even in rookie status."

Bunnymund's fists curled tightly into fists. "Frost, I swear-" He stopped himself. This is exactly what Pitch wanted, what his other helper wanted. For the Guardians group to fight and to fall apart. "Fine." His words were forced. "I'll go."

North gave the Pooka a smile. "Good!" He saw the yetis come back, a brown bag big enough to fit someone inside of it in their hands, as well as a snow globe. They tucked an extra snow globe away just in case. Bunnymund just grumbled and tapped his foot against the hard wood floor, a hole opening up. He jumped into it, the black void closing up back into floor again, a small pink flower left in his wake. The yetis had the same fate as well.

Toothiana, as usual, stayed up in the air with the help of her hummingbird speed. She began to give out orders again to her little fairies, though her mind was not in the right place of doing so. Her words were quick paced and rushed as usual, however. "San Diego, sector 2! Lawrence, Kansas, sector 14 with four lateral incisors and two molars - oh MiM! Look at how Kate flossed!" More fairies flooded in, surrounding the petite woman. "Front tooth lost in Tacoma, Washington from falling off of a swing. Note to check in on her. Tokyo, Japan, sector 6 with multiple molars! Vancouver, Canada with a molar - Ginger's last tooth! I can't believe how- hey!" She turned to glare at a fairy who was fluttering over Jack.

Jack was backing up, a little bit freaked out. The fairy kept on hovering closer, trying to get a good look at the winter spirit's teeth, but already had done so about four times by then. "Uh, hey, little fairy, my teeth are fine. Tooth just checked them-"

"Hey! Back to work, missy!" Toothiana waved a finger at the little fairy, scolding it like a mother. The fairy immediately returned back to her post and listened for further instructions. Toothiana nodded in approval and told her to head on over to South Korea.

North strolled back into his office, his mind running over the words Bunnymund had so urgently insisted. It got him thinking. He _had_ noticed a slight change to Gracie, but kids grow up and change. She could've gained an interest into a combat similar to what he himself did when he was younger. He was a bandit, hence his sabers. Then there came the battle with Pitch, the Nightmare King, and things kinda went on from there.

This possibly couldn't be a bad idea, could it?

********

Bunnymund sighed softly and walked past alleyways and streets, looking around for this new Guardian of theirs. He still had an.. _odd_ feeling about this and he could shake it. There was something way off about Gracie. He glanced behind him at the two yetis looming in the shadows, keeping from being spotted. They were always babbling about something in that gibberish language of theirs, where only North could understand them. Bunnymund still had yet to learn. The yetis were quiet though, surprisingly. Perhaps so they wouldn't scare their new recruit.

The Guardian of Hope heard a commotion in one particularly wide alleyway. He frowned lightly and pressed his back up against the wall, staying hidden in the darkness and listened. He heard a thump and bunch of sounds of struggle, his ears standing up in alarm. What in the world were they doing? He heard muttering with an angry tone. A little bit of time passed, maybe a minute or even half that before he saw blood splat onto the concrete and heard a body drop. He suppressed a gasp, his bright green eyes going wide in fear and terror.

There were footsteps. ' _Oh MiM_ ,' Bunnymund gulped, holding up a boomerang. He forced himself to step out of hiding and into the street lamp's light, seeing Gracie. She had dirty blonde, wavy hair. She was tall, too. Taller than most girls - no, women her age. He had to remind himself that she wasn't a child anymore like he remembered. What really enforced that thought on her being an adult, was the sight of her wiping the bloodied silver blade on her blue jeans. It came off as red and black mixed, forming an awful brownish color, like dried blood kind of. It caused his eyes to trail down to the body on the ground a few feet away from her, making him almost gag. It was.. _headless_. The head was a few feet away from the body, making him feel even more sick than before.

The girl's eyes traveled up Bunnymund from the ground in disinterest, her lips together in a relaxed way, though her expression was blank. Once she registered the unknown being in front of her, the blade was suddenly up again in a defense position.

Bunnymund forced himself to swallow what felt like a rock in his throat and spoke up. "H-Hey.. I'm not gonna hurt ya.." His voice was shaky, as well as his breathing. Why, of all people and spirits, did he choose her? This most definitely wasn't Gracie. No, not at all.

"Who are you?" Gracie barked, her expression now stone hard in new found hatred for this stranger. "No, _what_ are you?" Out of all her years, she hadn't seen one single creature like him before. It alarmed her, making her remember past events.

"I'm the Easter Bunny.. I'm a Pooka.." Bunnymund answered her slowly, wary of her movements. She opened her mouth to say something, but Bunnymund panicked and had her thrown into the brown bag before she could do anything else.

********

North brought everyone back to the Globe Room from where one or two had wandered off, including himself. He came back from his office, dragging Jack along the away from a run-in in the hallways. "Listen up! Bunny should be back soon, so look lively."

"I'm dead," Jack said bluntly, leaning against his staff loosely. "How can I look lively?"

"Is just expression.." North mumbled, not amused by Jack's ignorance of the commonly used phrase. Wait.. Was it still commonly used? None of them but Jack (the 300-year-old teenager, duh) were up to date really with the time. Phrases mostly - they used many that weren't around anymore.

Sandy and Toothiana stood off to the side as usual, where North moved Jack and himself back so they wouldn't be in the middle of the portal when it opened up. Soon, Bunnymund came back through his tunnels looking frightened, where the yetis came back through the portal. They walked through, the portal closing behind them, with a thrashing person screaming violent things in the bag.

"Let me out, or Father help me, I will-" the woman's voice rang loudly in a shout until she was dropped with a thump. She immediately ripped the bag open, crawling out and standing up. She didn't look happy at all. She looked _pissed_. The knife in her right hand, gripping like she was about to uppercut-stab someone made it even worse.

"Ah, Gracie!" North exclaimed, his voice a little bit louder than intended. "Nice to see each other again, no?"

'Gracie' blinked, her expression going blank. "Who's Gracie? My name's Rylee."


	3. Chapter 3

"Rylee?" The name didn't feel right in Toothiana's mouth, the pronunciation feeling wrong. It felt wrong calling Gracie that. Gracie's name was.. well, _Gracie_. Not Rylee.

"Yes," the young-looking woman replied with a simple nod of her head. She remained stoic as usual, fingering her blade in her fingers. "Rylee."

Jack balanced on one foot on top of his perch on his staff, the other leg hanging. "Why are they calling you Gracie Jiminez then?" He looked around at his friends, starting to snicker. "Kangaroo got the wrong girl, didn't he? The poor thing's probably scared."

Rylee looked offended, her eyes now fixed into a cold hard glare at the boy. "I'm not scared of such a petty creature as you." She scowled at Jack disapprovingly. "How do you take me, to be weak?"

"I-I certainly don't, if that helps.." Bunnymund mumbled softly, cowering back behind North. He hopped over to the fireplace and rubbed his paws together, trying to ignore Rylee's gaze and be less awkward in this surprising conversation. Sandy joined the fireplace, setting his small cup of hot chocolate down on a table and put his palms facing the fire as he listened.

"That is.. good, I suppose," Rylee said, her voice showing confusion as it came out more of a question than a statement. "I wasn't talking to you, and that certainly doesn't help." Way to be blunt about it. Sigh.

Jack shook his head, hopping off and walking over to her. He let his staff drag behind him, leaving a small trail of frost in its wake. "No, that's not what I'm taking you as. Most would be pretty freaked out if they were kidnapped by a giant rabbit and were the wrong person all along. But.. _creature_? C'mon, do I really look that bad to you?" He frowned, looking down at his blue hoodie's sleeves.

"No, I do not mean it in that sense.." Rylee's expression returned blank. She shook her head, getting rid of the conversation topic. "Who are you?" she then demanded, looking at everyone else with an angry look on her face.

"Ve are the Guardians of Childhood," North grinned, a slight boisterous tint seeping into his voice. "You have been chosen as one of them." He puffed out his chest in pride, proud to be in such a position to be a Guardian of Childhood.

"The.. Guardians of Childhood?" Rylee's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Her eyes followed a hummingbird-woman hybrid, who was now fluttering up towards a giant globe. She couldn't help but marvel at how huge this place was, the globe now making her realize that. It was truly magnificent.

Toothiana flew up towards the Globe of Belief, getting closer. She gestured towards it, pointing out a few continents with millions of small little lights covering it. "Each of these lights is a child who believes in us, Gra-" She cleared her throat, stopping herself. "Rylee. My apologies." All she got in return was a simple nod.

Rylee walked closer to the control panel, getting a better look at the slowly spinning sphere. "I do not understand. These lights represent a child?" She turned around to look at the others, tucking her blade in her back pocket. No one had noticed the blood stain on her pant leg.

"Each small and little one," North explained. "Represents one child who believes in us."

"What would happen if there were no lights? And why are they flickering?" Rylee questioned, curious about everything. She inspected the writing dotting the states and the continents, countries and oceans. It definitely wasn't a language that she was familiar with.. She knew all the languages in the world. It was incredibly strange that she didn't know this writing.

Bunnymund frowned, going back to Easter. He was still jumpy about it. "If a child doesn't believe, the light goes out. Many begin and cease believing in a second. If they were all out.." He trailed off, leaving Rylee with a curious feeling.

Sandy floated over and tugged lightly at her pant leg, looking up at the girl. His dreamsand formed together above his head, forming an image of all of the Guardians. Himself, Toothiana, North, Jack, and Bunnymund. Next to that image was another image, showing a globe with a lot of little dots. They began to go out, then leaving the globe blank, and once it did, the image of the Guardians started to fade until there was nothing there.

Rylee pat the sand-wielder on the head lightly and moved on, soon standing in the middle of the room. "So.. You guys just disappear? Just like that?" She rose an eyebrow for a moment before letting it drop, her dark brown eyes showing uncertainty. "I haven't heard of anything like that, and in all of my years, that is honestly almost impossible."

"How old _are_ you?" Jack narrowed his eyes at her, knowing of his rude question. He received a glare from the woman, one that made his blood turn colder than it already was and definitely put him in line. He'd never be that rude again, at least to her anyways.

"Definitely way older than you," Rylee remarked. "You guys too." She turned back to look at the other Guardians, finding a confused look on their faces. How could a twenty year old be older than centuries old legends?

"How?" Toothiana asked, her eyebrows furrowed as her fingers laced together nervously. She shushed her fairies for a moment, fluttering closer to the others as she noticed that she had fluttered a little further out than she had originally wanted to.

Rylee sighed softly, waving her hand dismissively. "Forget age, it does not matter. Now answer my original question. Who are you?"

"Oh!" North blushed lightly in embarrassment as his foolishness. "I'm sorry. Ve've forgotten to introduce ourselves. I am North, known as Santa Clause. This is Bunny, the Easter Bunny. Tooth, the Tooth Fairy. Sandy, the Sandman. And Jack Frost." He gestured to them as he spoke their names.

Rylee's eyes widened, her right hand reaching behind her back and whipping out her blade. "Stay away from me!" she snarled, holding the blade as if she were about to attack. Her glare returned, her grip tightening. How could they be alive again?

The Guardians of Childhood's eyes widened, their breaths hitching in their throats. This definitely wasn't Gracie - and they were at knife point. Jack slowly rose his hands in the air in surrender, where the rest held their hands out in front of them to keep her at a distance.

"Whoah, whoah, whoah!" Bunnymund gasped, his ears standing up in extreme alarm. "Easy there, Shelia, we were never trying to hurt you. We're nothing to be afraid of." He slowly began to back up, the others already a few steps behind, besides Sandy. The short man had stayed up by Bunnymund.

Rylee growled. "Yeah, sure. Like I'm gonna believe that," she said sarcastically, her eyes following all of them warily like a hawk.

"'Why would there be any reason to be?" Toothiana questioned from up in the air. Why would a bunch of childhood legends be a threat to her? _Childhood_ legends. They worked with _children_.

"Well, I don't know," Rylee said, sarcasm seeping into her voice once again. "Maybe because the last time I've ever heard your names, you've murdered dozens of people altogether? Maybe because the last time I've heard your names, Santa Clause here was a pagan god and killed people to eat them, the Easter Bunny went all Alice in Wonderland and stuffed people down rabbit holes suffocate and die, Jack Frost was freezing people solid, the Tooth Fairy was pulling out every single tooth on many innocent people and was supposed to be dead? Hell, the Sandman put everyone in a coma until they had to cut the life support!"

The Guardians' eyes widened even more, their jaws dropping. What in MiM's name!? They'd _never_ do that!

"Oh my god!" Toothiana squeaked in horror. "We'd _never_ do that! I swear, we love children! We love adults as well! Why in the world-"

Rylee cut the hummingbird hybrid off. "On second thought, _all of you_ should've been staked and dead. How in Father's name are you still alive? The Winchesters made sure you were over with."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about lady!" Jack stuttered. "But you're crazy. You've gone crazy, and so have these 'Winchesters', because there's no such thing as pagan gods or anything like that. We haven't ever killed anyone in our entire lives and-"

"Yeah, yeah, cut the crap kid," Rylee barked. "I've already got enough on my plate, I don't need any other monsters interfering."

"I svear to you, ve aren't monsters!" North cried. No one had seen him this frightened before. "Just put the blade down and ve vill explain."

"Why?" Rylee hissed, walking closer. "So you can gank me like all the rest of my kind? Hell no."

This type of banter and arguing went on for quite a while until Rylee let them explain, soon being reassured that they weren't monsters. She slowly let down the blade, keeping an eye on them all, and tucked it back into her back pocket.

"Why am I here?" she asked quietly. "What is it that you need help with? I'd like to leave now." She bowed her head, looking down at her hands in shame. Why had she been so foolish? Why was she always on guard?

"There is new threat," North explained, clasping his large hands together. "It has joined up vith old threat to make bigger threat." He pointed over to the Globe of Belief. "They together are threat to the children, therefore a threat to us."

"But first," Jack interrupted, holding up his pointer finger to signal North to wait for a moment. "You said 'your kind.' What exactly are you?"

"What are you?" Rylee rose an eyebrow, then let it drop again. "It can go both ways."

Jack groaned. "As in species or whatever! Are you like an alien or something?" There was a smack to the back of his head, causing him to stumble forward and fall. He immediately got back up again, clutching the back of his head. "Ouch- Hey! That hurt!"

"She ain't an alien, dingbat," Bunnymund scowled in disapproval. "Does she look green to you?" These kinds of things made him wish sometimes that Jack hadn't been made into a Guardian. But he saved his holiday so.. He was kind of forever in a debt to the childish winter spirit. It only made him sigh when he thought of it.

"I can assure you, I definitely am not an alien," Rylee said, amusement showing on her face. It was soon all wiped away again though with seriousness. She then softly sighed. "I am an archangel." There was a long silence, which made her uncomfortable and feel awkward.

" _Archangel_?" Toothiana questioned. "Am I hearing you correctly?" She received a hesitant nod and an action of Rylee's hands folding together in a prayer type of position.

A large and wide grin snuck its way onto Sandy's face. He's always loved the idea of angels and all things around that. He started to jitter, jumping up and down in excitement as images rushed past in a hurry.

The actions of the Sandman made Rylee laugh. "Thank you, Sandy." She gazed over at him, reading his pictures. "Yes, we do have wings.. Seraphim are very much real too, as well."

"I'm sorry, Shelia, but _archangel_?" Bunnymund asked in disbelief, his eyes squinting slightly at her as his eyebrows dipped down. "I've seen a lot of weird things in my time, but I can't necessarily believe that. They aren't real. I'll be needing some proof."

"Bunny.." North warned, his Russian accent thick in sound. He didn't like how this was sounding.

"Of course.." Rylee drawled in annoyance. As soon as she said that, it started storming outside majorly. The lights began to flicker and there were deep rumbles of thunder, and tons of lightning. The lights eventually went out after a few seconds. No.. They _blew_ out. Ouch. They'd definitely need to replace them.

The Guardians watched in shock as giant shadows in the shape of wings were cast on the walls, wrapping around each flat surface and corner at how big they were. They met up with Rylee's back, the lightning flickering against the shadows. Soon the storm went away, leaving them in total darkness.

"Oh my god-"

"I can't see! I can't see!" Jack cried, waving his arms around.

"Oh c'mon guys, have a little fun," Rylee teased dryly, snapping her fingers and the lights were replaced and turned on again. "Now, about this new threat. Who is it?"

North recovered from his little surprise. "Oh! Um, ve do not know. I don't, at least." He looked down sheepishly, blushing lightly in embarrassment.

Rylee sighed. "Great. You want my help for someone you don't even know. Isn't that just-" She was silenced when a shadow appeared right by her feet. The moon was bright, and was shining down and creating the shadow.

"Manny?" Bunnymund asked, looking up at the moon in the sky, confused. The shadow wasn't Pitch. It was of the new threat. There wasn't much description, but broad shoulders and slightly spiked up, short hair, but it was enough to make Rylee gape.

"Oh my god.. It's Crowley!"


	4. Chapter 4

This takes place around Season 5 of Supernatural when Lucifer walks free. I may be a little incorrect throughout the story with the timing and events so I can fit my story into it (the information may be a little bit incorrect as well), though, so please don't point this out. I already know. cx And as expected, the events of Season 5 will be altered or not written altogether.. It depends on my effort status. cx Anyways. Continue on reading, my little Guardians.

* * *

"Crowley?" Bunnymund questioned, furrowing his eyebrows. Who could such a man be that he could frighten an archangel? He looked around at the others who were looking at the girl questioningly, the same inquiry drifting through their minds. This man must be pretty evil to freak an archangel out, that's for sure.

Sandy frowned lightly as a question mark appeared above his head, his eyebrows knitted together with worry and confusion. He's faced some pretty mean and evil people, _creatures_ even, that were pretty scary, but _this_? If he didn't know better, he would've said that she looked terrified.

Rylee's dark brown eyes widened for a few moments. Just as fast as the shock came, soon came anger, her eyes narrowing at the shadow and her jaw clenching. "Of course," she spat, scowling. "Just when things couldn't get any worse, this son of a bitch decides to show up. Isn't that delightful."

Toothiana held back her motherly scolding. She was completely against swearing and thought it was completely wrong, but she couldn't help but agree with the young-looking lady.

"Who-Who's Crowley?" Jack asked shakily, gripping his staff tighter to him. The way she spoke of him, it sounded like she knew him. And that was never, _ever_ good.

"None of your business, kid," Rylee grumbled under her breath. Her gaze trailed back up to the alarmed Guardians. "I believe I'm being summoned. Goodbye for now." Then she disappeared, a flap of wings behind heard when she did.

Now, angels weren't ever supposed to lie in all the lore and fairy tales. But those were terribly wrong tales to tell, and they did indeed lie. They did way worse things than lying, but children wouldn't need to know that, would they? In this case, Rylee had left with a lie, but appeared to her destination to find out that what she said was actually true. Escape plan = backfired.

********

"Oh, great and powerful and mighty Rylee.. One of the highest of all the douchenozzles, appear before us so that I may kick your ass for-"

"Dean." Rylee appeared in a mucky hotel room that she'd rather be dead than be found in there. The walls were painted white, but dirt and dust had collected, which left the walls a toothpaste beige, cobwebs in the ceiling corners. The floor tile was beginning to rot and tear up from the floor, leaving easy-to-trip spots. She looked over at the beds, which were two flat mattresses on rickety frames with the springs starting to uncurl. Some jutted out from the side, which gave a good likelihood of being scratched by the end. Sam learned that the hard way. "Why must my ass be kicked?"

"Leaving us with a pick-stick for a weapon!" Dean Winchester, the oldest son of John Winchester, exclaimed crossly as he shot up from the bed that he was sitting on. "We were about to gank that mother, but you just disappeared like that! We almost died!"

Rylee stared at Dean blankly, stoic. "Is it not my job to provide weapons for you, Winchester. I trusted that you had it under control, therefore I left to go along my usual duties. Where's Castiel?"

"Only God knows," Dean mumbled. "Oh wait! He left! He bailed on us. So, no one knows." His tone turned bitter and accusing.

"You better treat me with some respect," the woman scowled, looking at him disapprovingly. Disgust lied upon her features. "Castiel may have brought you back from the dead, but I can sure as hell throw you back in."

Dean opened his mouth to protest, but Sam Winchester interrupted him by coming in through the front door. "Hey Dean- Oh, hey Rylee."

"Hello." Rylee gave him a simple nod of acknowledgement.

Sam set two grocery bags down on the counter. Sam Winchester was the youngest of John's two sons, and possibly the most foolish and naïve. Possibly. At times he was a fool and gullible, but other times he was just as wise as Dean. "I got you pie," he said, talking to his brother as he stuck his hand inside a brown paper bag. He brought out a plastic container of cherry pie, the lid being sealed with a giant rectangle sticker stuck vertically across the front of the container.

Dean's eyes slightly widened as he perked up. "Oh!" He hurried over to the kitchen table, snatching the plastic container from Sam's grasp. He ripped the sticker off quickly and grabbed a plastic fork. Sliding into a seat at the kitchen table, he looked up. "Anyways." The lid snapped open from its two notches and he stuck the fork into the crust.

"What brings you here, Ry?" Sam asked, using her nickname. Castiel's was Cas, so might as well give the second over-protective angel a nickname too. He looked up at her tense posture. "What's gotten your feathers ruffled up?"

"Nothing," Rylee muttered harshly. "Dean summoned me. I assume it was for a better reason than leaving you with a job almost finished." She walked into the kitchen area to get closer, Sam putting everything away into the fridge or the pantry.

"Hmm.." Dean hummed in consideration, the sound being muffled by the pie stuffed in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, coming up with an answer. "No, not really. Just wanted to express how pissed off I am because of you, to you."

"I have better things to do than to listen your mindless droning," Rylee hissed viciously, annoyance dripping from her words. The fire in her eyes burned down when Sam turned around and gave her a gentle look. It was of a warning, but of understanding of the pain he was in constantly because of Dean's mindless droning. She rolled her shoulders back, resembling a bird and its wings, in irritation before turning to the tallest. "Sam, do you have any news on Lucifer? Is there anyway to stop him?"

Sam shook his head exasperatedly. "Not a definite answer, but Cas thinks that God can stop him. He's been doing some poking around and he thinks that God's vessel is down here on Earth."

Now that got the archangel interested. "Really? Might he be near us?" she asked, almost excitedly if you will.

Sam shrugged, closing the fridge and pantry door. "Maybe. A prophet should be able to hold God, and Chuck's here, so.. I mean, literally. They're a freaking _translator_ for the Word of God." He folded up the brown paper bags and shoved them underneath a chair with the rest of their hoarded collection. Yeah, they'd been in that hotel room for a while.. And they had frequent grocery runs, thanks to a certain squirrel. Ahem, Dean, ahem.

"Not quite.." Rylee began explaining. "Just because they're the mouthpiece of his Word does not mean they can contain him. He'd need a true vessel.. Like Dean being Michael's, and you being Lucifer's." She saw him tense up, but didn't quite get the message of his body language and continued on. "If he took someone's body who couldn't contain him.." She shuddered slightly, steering it off onto a different road of the subject. "Angels have different strengths of powers, which equals a stronger, bigger grace. If a higher classed angel took just a random person's body as a vessel for a temporary joyride, their grace.."

"It was consume the vessel's soul," Dean finished. "It would leave them brain dead, wouldn't it? Or just dead?"

Rylee nodded sadly, frowning. "I am afraid so. But thankfully, most humans can contain an ordinary angel." This went with Lucifer as well. If he couldn't find a strong enough vessel, then he would surely be harming the vessel's body with all the power inside of him.

"What about archangels?" Sam asked curiously, sitting down at the table, beckoning Rylee to join them.

Rylee nodded, sliding into a brown, wooden chair at the table next to the man she was talking to. "My vessel.. Um, Gracie, is strong enough to contain me. She's a very.. withstanding person."

"Well, she ain't a person anymore if you're inside of her," Dean grumbled, seemingly in a bad mood. Rylee's eyes narrowed at him, silent, and simply turned her head away from him stubbornly.

"I think you hurt her feelings," Sam snorted. "Better say sorry before she blows up the town." He looked amused, a faint smirk on his face as he teased Dean silently.

Dean scoffed, getting up to throw away his garbage. "No way am I apologizing for saying the truth."

"On a different note," Rylee spoke up once more, turning her head back to them once again. "Is that all? I have somewhere to be."

The oldest Winchester rose up his eyebrows for a moment before letting them drop again. "In a hurry?" He got out a shot glass and some whisky from the cabinet. "Want some for the road?"

Rylee cringed in disgust. " _No,_ thanks." She straightened up, going a little bit awkward. "And yes. May I leave now?"

"Yeah, go right ahead," Sam said quickly before Dean could respond with a no, glaring warningly.

"Very well. I'll be back soon." Zap! She was gone.

********

"Where _were_ you!?" Toothiana exclaimed in frustration once Rylee appeared with a flap of wings. She had been zipping and buzzing around more than usual, unable to keep still. There's kids out there losing their belief, giving up hope, and this stupid archangel was wasting their time.

"I don't have to answer to you," Rylee replied defiantly, narrowing her eyes at the hummingbird-hybrid, her lips pressed into a firm line. She crossed her arms over her chest, putting most of her weight on her left foot.

"You better or I'll-" Bunnymund hopped up to her, sizing the girl up when he was silenced by her voice cutting cold through his. He actually looked surprised, shocked even. Taken back, he gaped slightly at her.

"Or you'll what?" Rylee challenged. "You _do_ realize that if I wanted to, I could wipe your existence off of the face of the earth, and no one would ever notice?" A smirk painted her pink lips, curving them upward at the right corner.

Bunnymund's ears immediately drooped over his eyes, his mouth closing back up again when he had nothing to say, and backed up to the warmth of the fireplace once again. It stung a little bit. _No one would ever notice?_ Was he really that unimportant? He shoved those depressing thoughts off to the side and focused that she had the actual power to do whatever she threatened. Now, that scared him. Stay off of her bad side.

"Rylee," North spoke up with a soft sigh, giving her a knowing warning look. "Do not belittle him. Toothy's right: Vhere vere you? Ve vere vaiting here for quite a vhile."

"My.. _friends_ as you might say, summoned me," Rylee explained, hands clasped together behind her back. "I cannot refuse it. It was very important."

"Nothing can be _that_ important," Jack retorted, walking towards North while swinging his staff in his right hand to emphasize his point that he was trying to make. "It's not like it's the end of the world or something."

"Actually, it is," the woman said bluntly, no expression on her face. "The Apocalypse has been going on now for months. Haven't you seen anything of it?"

Everyone's eyes widened as they froze. There were massive killings of adults in certain areas, which were luckily very few places. Some of them seemed deserted and like deserts, others at war or multiple dead bodies found all around.

"I-It is?" Jack squeaked, immediately wanting to take back his words and eat them. Frost spread farther out than usual from around his feet. He should've held his tongue, but he was just so foolish to speak his mind.

"Yes. My friends and I are trying to stop it." Rylee walked up to the Globe and pointed to one place on the map in the middle of the United States. "They're in Indianapolis, Indiana at the moment. But then again, they could've picked up and been on the road by now."

Sandy gave a question mark above his head, but then shook his head. 'Nevermind. Not gonna ask.' he meant to say.

"You never answered question," North said, standing by the fireplace as well. "Who is Crowley?" He studied her expression before quickly adding: "And no 'none of business's.'"

Rylee just glared before satisfying their curiosity. They had a right to know.. After all, they were gonna fight him. A soft sigh escaped her lips.

"Crowley's the King of Crossroads. He used to rule over Hell."


	5. Chapter 5

"...Hell," Jack said after a moment, wanting to get a clear understanding. "Like, the Christian Hell? The Devil, tortured souls, and everything else?"

"Bingo," Rylee pointed at the winter spirit for a second before stuffing her hands back into her pockets. "He doesn't rule over Hell anymore, of course. Lucifer does, now that he's out of the cage." She gave the ground a glare at the reoccurring memories of Lucifer's coming when Sam broke the last of the 66 seal.

"Crossroads?" Toothiana furrowed her brows, being followed up by North.

"Cage?"

Rylee sighed loudly. "Are you going to make me explain everything, or what? Surely you aren't oblivious to everything in the world." She looked around at the others' guilty looks. "Huh. I stand corrected." Leaning against a long, tan and polished wooden railing, she put her hands behind her back and wrapped them around the thick-ish wood. "Story time, then."

Jack sat down criss-cross-applesauce on the hard-wooden floor, his staff slung in between his arms. Toothiana and Sandy followed the young boy's actions, where North just sat in his usual seat. Bunnymund was curled up next to the fireplace, trying to soak up all the heat.

"So!" Rylee clapped her hands together once before returning them back to their spot behind her. "Once upon a time, millions and eons ago, the youngest archangel named Lucifer was loyal to his Father, God. Then God created humans, and thus you, then told all of the angels to bow down to them. Little Lucy got angry and refused to follow orders, so God banished him from Heaven. Lucifer found a human woman, stripped her of humanity and soul, creating the first demon. He named her Lilith. But another archangel, Michael, trapped Ol'Lucy in the cage, as told to by God. So the demons that had multiplied had to be ruled, so a deal from a man by the name of Fergus was made. His mother, Rowena, was a witch and abandoned him when he was just a young boy. When he was killed, he was turned into the King of Hell, and King of Crossroads. But since Lucifer is up and out of the cage now, he's just the King of Crossroads."

"Definitions of cage and crossroads in your terms, please," Bunnymund huffed in annoyance. She only told them a story, not an answer to their questions.

Rylee gave the rabbit a glare, but complied. "The cage is.. well.. a cage. It now holds Michael and Adam Winchester. It was created by God to imprison Lucifer - the only way to open the cage is to break the 66 seals, which means murdering demons, angels, etc., etc. Crossroads is where four pathways meet in one spot. Schools use it to teach perpendicular angles - a box is buried in the middle, with a picture of the summoner, and a Crossroads demon will appear to make a deal."

"How has all of this happened without us even noticing?" Jack questioned, crossing his arms over his chest. "You four keep better watch on me than you do with your own workers, yet you don't notice this."

"Ve're not exactly looking for Lucifer," North replied, his brows furrowed above his bright blue eyes. "Or anything such."

"Doesn't matter if you're not looking for him," Rylee interrupted with a scoff. "The whole public knows about it. The apocalypse is a pretty big eye catcher if you haven't noticed."

Sandy made a few images above his head in the midst of the loud arguing now starting to fill the room. One image showed the Guardians standing side by side. The next showed one ear with an X over it. 'We're really that ignorant?'

"Of course we are!" Toothiana exclaimed bitterly. "This isn't our fight. There's no reason to pay attention to-"

"This could endanger the children," Bunnymund snapped. "It'll be our fault if they're harmed."

"Exactly! What if Jamie was caught in the middle, or the others, or a whole fucking continent?" Jack rambled, surprising himself with his agreement with Bunnymund. Those two were at each other's throats from the start.

"Language!" came a shriek above Bunnymund's insult of, "Like you care about the children. All you do is freeze and kill!"

There was a sudden silence, their talking dying down into nothing. Like a deer in the headlights, Bunnymund's ears fell flat against his head as all shocked eyes were on him. You could hear a pin drop.

"Bunny," North's voice rang quietly. "How could you accuse of such a thing?"

"North- I-"

"No, you're right," Jack said bitterly. "You're _always_ right, aren't you? You know everything, don't you? About holidays, about children, about me. Holy hell, I bet you know my sister's name from your knowledge, Mr. High-Horse!" His lips were pressed together tightly as if he were trying not to let his bottom lip quiver. His brows lowered into his glare, though tears shown secretly in them.

It was true. Jack knew that his work that he perfected, which he fought with other spirits about, killed so many innocent people. He's lost count, each person tearing a bit of his heart away. The young boy spun around and dashed off into the winding halls of the grand workshop, escaping the harsh words of reality.

Rylee's eyes formed into a glare after Jack left, eyes trained on the Pooka. "You're a children's legend, Aster," she sneered. "Why must you look upon his dark moments?"

With that, the archangel ran after the winter spirit.

* * *

 **Hey there guys. Sorry I haven't updated in a long time, or it basically wasn't even a chapter. I'm not really feeling this story anymore, though I am proud of the way I wrote it. I'm gonna try to write some SuperWhoLock if anyone's interested. :) Hopefully this will become longer. Thanks for all the readers, give a review of the very little I wrote if you want. Thanks!**


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